Day 3 Results: Morning Session / Evening Session / Team Scores

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Saint Mary's University swimming and diving coach Eric Lindquist had some pretty lofty expectations for his teams heading into the season-ending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.

Expectations that the Cardinals promptly exceeded on a daily basis during the three-day event at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

“I could not have asked for anything more than this group gave me the last three days,” said Lindquist, whose men's team placed seventh overall, while the women took ninth. “Our goal coming in was to swim our fastest times of the season — and everyone did that. One hundred percent season bests — that's just awesome.

“As a coach, what more could you ask for?”

Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) continued his impressive performance on Saturday, as the Cardinal sophomore swam the sixth-fastest 200 backstroke time to earn a spot in the finals, where he finished eighth in 1:56.81. Ross had opened the championships on Thursday by breaking the school record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.46, then won the consolation final in the 400 IM on Saturday, touching the wall in 4:17.37.

Anna Smaron (Maple Plain, Minn.) got her feet wet in MIAC Championships competition on Friday with a 17th-place effort in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.6), and did herself one better on Saturday, as the freshman qualified for the consolation finals in the 200 breaststroke, where she posted a time of 2:35.80.

“The effort this week was amazing,” said Lindquist. “It was a great way for us to close out the season.”